The Outsider
by Chaos Nova
Summary: The plan had worked, the journey is about to be taken. But something has other ideas. Review please, let me know what you think.
1. Chapter 1: The Journey

Hi! I am Chaos SuperNova, and this is my story. I have been writing for a few years now, and this is the only thing to reach the public domain so far. It is also my first fanfiction, so reviewers go easy.

Disclaimer: I do not own code Lyoko, the characters (Except my own) or the locations. The plot is mine.

* * *

Chapter I, The Journey

* * *

"Well, things are going as planned. There don't seem to be any complications with the machine."

"Excellent. Has it been tested yet?"

"We have tested some small non-organic objects with no problems. We are going to test the machine to the extreme before we try with a living organism, just to be sure, but I reckon we should have it up and running any day now."

"And you tested properly? Not theoretically, I mean?"

"Yes."

"And it really worked?"

"Yes."

"Incredible. I never imagined this could be possible. This goes way beyond anything I had ever dreamed. But Dr. Krey, what do you plan to do with it? Are you going to sell it?"

"I don't really know. We should probably cross that bridge when we come to it. By the way, would you like to see it in action?"

"You bet I would!"

"Then follow me."

—Three Days Later—

The device was ready for a trial-run. Dr. Krey and his associate Dr. Linra were about to make a scientific breakthrough. They had been working on this project, along with a team of scientists and engineers, for about a year and a half. The volunteer stepped onto the platform, not knowing what was about to happen. Not wanting to take any risks, he was dressed in a space suit with hot and cold protectors, and an oxygen backpack. Dr. Krey and his team were running out test after test to make sure the machine wasn't going to malfunction at a crucial moment. But more importantly, the life of the volunteer was at stake. When Dr. Krey was satisfied with the results, he went and stood beside Dr. Linra.

"Assume your position!"

The volunteer braced himself for impact, just in case anything should go wrong.

"Dr. Linra, would you like to throw the switch?"

"I would."

He walked over to a lever nearby, and pulled it down. The platform began to shake, and beams of light started to emit from six small pedestals around it. Bright light began to shine all over the volunteer, and in less than a heartbeat, he completely vanished. One of the engineers let out a cry of glee.

"We're not out of the woods yet." said Dr. Krey. "Bring him back!"

Dr. Linra threw the lever all the way up. The light returned, and the volunteer was once again standing right where he had vanished from a moment ago. The whole room was silent. Dr. Linra threw the lever into neutral position, and locked it in place. Dr. Krey slowly approached the man standing on the platform.

"John, are you okay?"

The volunteer lifted off his helmet.

"That was incredible!"

Cheers rose up from the whole room. Not only had John survived, but he had led the way for a major scientific breakthrough that could change the world.

"What happened?"

"I was transported to a place like here, but different. For starters, this lab didn't exist. This whole area is still forest, and there are no people around. I didn't get a good look because I was pulled back quickly. Congrats doctor, your machine is a complete success."

The whole room was a buzz of excitement as scientists shook hands and patted each other on the back.

"Krey, what would you like to do now?"

"I would like to see it for myself. We'll set up an expedition soon. But for now we celebrate!"

He handed out glasses and a few bottles of champagne, and everyone celebrated the wonder that they had just created. But in their merriment, nobody noticed several sparks around a nearby electrical socket.


	2. Chapter 2: The Abduction

Okay, here is chapter 2. Just to be clear, the experiment in Ch.1 wasn't the team working on Lyoko. I won't tell you what it is because that would ruin the story. I'm not sure if i'm supposed todo this everytime, but...

Disclaimer: I do not own code lyoko, any characters except my own or locations. The plot, however, i do.

* * *

Chapter II, The Abduction

Vincent was having a hard day at work, as usual. He worked at a newsagent, a small one right in the centre of town. The shop attracted a surprising amount of business, considering its size. And as usual, Vincent was the one who did most of the work. He preferred it this way, but today a good few customers were giving him grief. It was a Thursday evening, and it was a beautiful day, odd in wintertime, and he didn't want to be in work on the only decent day in weeks, but there was not much he could do about it. And the sun would have set by the time he left the place, anyway.

"Having a hard day?" asked Tony, Vincent's colleague and friend.

"Yeah, some customer gave out to me for the price of wine, and asked to speak to the manager. It's hardly my fault."

"What did the manager say?"

"She said that it wasn't my fault, and that she does all the prices herself. The customer didn't really have anything to say to that, so she accused me of being rude!"

"That's not on! What did the manager say to that one?"

"Well, she apologised on my behalf. But once the customer was gone she told me not to worry about it. Mary's cool that way. And I didn't give the customer any cheek, and Mary knows that."

"Yeah, Mary knows the snobby customers all right. So how long do you have left?"

"I'm finished in about half an hour. How about you?"

"I've still got six hours to go. What have you got planned for later?"

"Not a damn thing. I just can't wait to get out of here. I reckon I'll just head home. Nothing exciting ever happens around here. And it's not like I can stay out late with school in the morning, so nothing. You?"

"Nope. It's not like I have to worry about school, being older than you, but I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning so I won't be going out. At the moment I just wanna finish the day."

The next thirty minutes crawled by like hours. It almost felt like time was standing still in the store, but his time was finally up.

"See you tomorrow, Vincent."

"Bye Tony."

Vincent left the store, tired and ready to relax for the rest of the evening. It felt like he hadn't had a break in days.

_Well time to get home. Not like I have anything else to do anyway._

The night was quiet, not many people were around the town. Then again it wasn't a very big town. Vincent was heading towards home, when he was engulfed in a brilliant light. "What the hell?" he said aloud. The light was pulsing around him. He soon lost consciousness as the light started dragging him – in a direction he wasn't familiar with. An instant later, the light, along with Vincent, were gone. The last thing he saw was a strange swirl that looked like three circles inside one another, with lines sticking out.

* * *

Starting to get the hang of this, so Ch.3 should arrive soon, hopefully.


	3. Chapter 3: The Arrival

Ok, this chapter is longer than the others, and hopefully will get some good reviews.

Read and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter III, The Arrival

* * *

"Odd, how can you eat so much?" asked Ulrich, watching odd feast through his second helping of dessert.

"I'm hungry. Besides, Yumi wasn't going to eat hers, so someone should. And I wanted it to be me."

"Okay, Odd. Whatever you say. Hey where's Jeremie? I haven't seen him at all during lunch."

"He said he wanted to check how things are with Aelita." Informed Yumi.

Ulrich and Odd exchanged a knowing glance.

"Hi, Ulrich, mind if I sit here?"

The trio looked up and saw Sissi standing over them, Herb and Nicolas on either side.

"Sorry Sissi, but that seat is reserved for Jeremie."

"Oh he won't mind if I sit here until he gets here, will he?"

"Well I do, do if you don't mind you're making my dessert taste like your perfume."

"Hmph!" Sissi stormed off in a huff, along with Herb and Nicolas.

"That girl, she just doesn't get it does she?"

"I'm surprised that she still talks to you after all the mean things you say to her, Ulrich." said Yumi.

"Yeah, but if you think about it she probably doesn't even remember most of the things because of the reboots." explained Odd.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Jeremie sat down beside them.

"Hi, Jeremie. Where were you? You just missed Ulrich have another go at Sissi. Pretty funny too." said Odd.

"I'm sure I'll see it again. Anyway I was just talking to Aelita. We agree that XANA has been idle for a while now."

"Well now that you mention it, it has been longer than usual since his last attack." Yumi pointed out.

"Well, anyway, Aelita is checking on Lyoko for any activity. In the meantime nothing strange is going on, so I think that XANA is waiting for something to happen. I would have done a scan, but class will start soon, and I didn't have time. And I didn't want to leave it running in case Jim came in and saw it. That's the last thing we need. Besides, Aelita can reach me anytime on my earpiece."

The bell rang, indicating that classes were going to be starting soon.

"Well come on guys," said Ulrich, "We don't wanna be late."

"Yeah that's true. Ms. Hertz will have a fit. Lets go." Said Odd as he led the way to Ms. Hertz's science class.

* * *

Vincent awoke in a field in a daze.

_What happened? Where am I?_

He looked around. There wasn't any sign of civilization around him. After a while of looking around, he saw a town and a very large building nearby.

_That's about fifteen miles away. It'll take me forever to walk there._

The big building was closer than the town, so he decided to walk there and find out what exactly was going on.

* * *

Class was boring, as usual. Ms. Hertz was going on about particles and stuff. Odd decided that he had had just about enough, and decided to take a little nap. Ulrich was only half paying attention, and Jeremie probably knew all the material already. Suddenly Jeremie jumped forward on his seat, surprising Ulrich and Odd.

"What's the matter?"

"Aelita has found an activated tower! And she says that it has been activated for a while! We gotta get to the factory!"

"How? The three of us can't just up and leave. We'll get stopped!"

"Class will be over in five minutes. We have to wait it out. I'll get in touch with Yumi and tell her to meet us there."

Odd took out his phone and sent Yumi a message, who was in English class at the moment. He got a message back. "Okay. Yumi is going to meet us there."

The three of them waited out the minutes until class was over, and then ran to the factory.

* * *

Vincent was walking for hours, before he finally reached the large building. There were teenagers here, so he guessed that it was a school. As he entered the grounds a large man with a bandage on his face approached him.

"Who are you? I don't recognize your face. Are you new here?"

Vincent was unsure if he could trust this man.

"My name is Vincent, and I'm kinda lost. Where is this place?"

"Vincent, huh? I'm Jim, the head of security and the physical education teacher. This is the Kadic School. What are they up to?" He gestured to three boys, who seemed to be in a hurry. The one with glasses shot Vincent an inquisitive look.

"You have a last name?"

"It's Vashna. Vincent Vashna."

"Well, there is a town nearby. Maybe you are on holiday?"

"Jim, is everything okay?" The principal joined them.

"Yeah, not a problem. This boy got lost, and ended up here."

"Lost? I can't say that I've seen you before, and I know almost everyone in town. Come to my office, we can talk privately there. You coming, Jim?" "Nah, I had better get back to work. See you later!" Jim said, as much to Vincent as to the principal.

* * *

Yumi was already waiting for them at the park entrance.

"What's going on?" she asked, worried.

"XANA has had a tower running for a while now. But whatever it was planning on doing, it didn't try to attack us, so we didn't notice." replied Jeremie, as Odd opened the manhole cover and climbed in.

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

The four of them made their way along the tunnel, and arrived at the factory. Ulrich, Yumi and Odd reached their scanners as Jeremie had just booted up the computer.

"Guys, ready to go?"

"Yeah!" all three of them said together.

"Okay, get in and let's do this thing! Aelita is waiting for you."

"Transfer, Yumi! Transfer, Odd! Transfer, Ulrich!"

"Scanner, Ulrich! Scanner, Yumi! Scanner, Odd!

"Virtualization!"

* * *

His office was comfortably large, with a desk by the window and several large bookcases along the wall. The principal sat down at his chair.

"Have a seat, son. Now what's your name?"

"Vincent Vashna."

"My name is Jean-Pierre Delmas, and I'm the principal here at Kadic. Well, where do you come from?"

Vincent decided not to tell the truth about his arrival at this place. The last thing he needed was to make everybody believe he was crazy.

"I – I don't remember. I woke up a few miles away from the school, and made my way here. I can't remember anything that happened before that."

"Hmm, that is an unusual situation. You don't appear to be hurt. I'd better alert the authorities." He picked up the phone, and dialled a number.

"Hello? Yes, this is Jean-Pierre, principal of the Kadic School. I have a person here who apparently has no memory, other than his name. He calls himself Vincent Vashna. Yes, yes he's here with me now. Of course. No, I don't think so. Ok, talk to you soon." He hung up the receiver.

"The officer is going to make cross-references, and file a report. They are going to check the regional police listings for someone of your name. Until then, there is not much I can do, other than allow you right of passage around the school. The police will be around later for questioning. Are you hungry?"

"Well now that you mention it, I am."

The principal chuckled, and the door to his office opened.

"Daddy? Sorry to interrupt, but have you thought about the dance?"

"Not yet, dear. Actually now that you're here, would you mind showing this young man where the cafeteria is? This is my daughter, Elizabeth."

"Everyone calls me Sissi. Nice to meet you."

"Sissi, this is Vincent Vashna. He is not a new student."

"I thought you looked older. Anyway, come with me, and I'll show you where the cafeteria is."

Sissi led Vincent away. Before he walked out the door, he turned around.

"Thank you, sir."

"Please, you're not a student. Call me Jean-Pierre. And you're welcome."

He left the office with Sissi.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I don't remember anything, save waking up in a nearby field I managed to make my way here, and Jim introduced me to the principal. He alerted the police, who are investigating my identity." Vincent was unsure if he wanted to lie to the authorities, but decided again that it was probably better than the truth.

"I see, a mystery at our very own school! Who would have thought it?"

"What's this place like, anyway?"

"Well, it's about as good as school gets, I suppose. I'd rather not be here, but at least I get benefits."

"Because your father is the principal? Isn't that a little under-handed?"

Sissi frowned for a second, before returning to her previous smile.

"Maybe, but it works. Anyway, this is the cafeteria. Sit down while I get you something to eat. I think there is pizza today."

She wandered off. Vincent looked around. The room was very large, and there were many people here, eating. The grounds were huge, not to mention the building itself. Sissi returned with two plates of pizza, and set one down in front of Vincent, who wolfed it down.

"Slow down or you'll choke yourself."

* * *

"Odd, fifty life-points and seven arrows left. Be careful! Ulrich, Yumi, both at seventy each, and there are still three Hornets and a Megatank left! Aelita needs to get to the tower! Do what you do best!"

The Megatank opened its shell, and fired. Odd and Ulrich managed to dodge it. Yumi threw her fan at a Hornet, and the blast caught her by surprise.

"Yumi, only twenty points left!"

Odd leapt up in a somersault, and began to fall back upside-down. "Laser arrow!" he yelled, as he blasted the Megatank, but it closed its shell just in time. Yumi stood up, and began deflecting the Hornet's lasers. She threw her fan again, and cut one in half.

"Good shot, Yumi!" yelled Ulrich as he ran at another Hornet. "Impact!" his blade sank into the XANA symbol. The Hornet blew up.

"Ulrich, look out!"

The Megatank opened for another attack, but this time Ulrich charged at it. Odd crept around behind it. Just as it fired Ulrich dodged it, and Odd jumped up again and fired. This time the arrow sailed right to its eye. The Megatank blew up.

"Okay, only one more Hornet and then Aelita can safely make it to the tower. Take him out!"

Ulrich tore after it. "Triplicate!" Ulrich split into three, and prepared himself. The Hornet blasted one of the clones. The other two leapt at it, but it was doing a pretty good job of dodging them. Yumi threw her fan, which was also avoided. Odd was watching this.

"Think you're pretty smart, do you? Try to dodge this!"

He jumped on a nearby rock, and jumped again towards the remaining Hornet, and unloaded his remaining five arrows at it. The first three missed, but the next arrow found its mark on its eye. The last Hornet blew up. Everybody congratulated him.

"Okay, Aelita. Go ahead, it's safe now."

Aelita emerged from her hiding place behind a rock.

"Thank you all, now I had better go to the tower."

She ran over to the tower, and entered it.

"Good job, everyone. Aelita is in the tower now. Odd it looks like you're the man of the match this time. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for the reboot."

* * *

Sissi was showing Vincent around the grounds of the school with her two friends, Herb and Nicolas. Herb obviously liked her, and was disdainful towards Vincent because of the attention she was showing him. They were about to enter the dorms, when Vincent spotted a small light, not too far off. It grew and grew, and eventually engulfed him.

_This is like what happened last time. Maybe this will send me home!_

The sensation was very strange, and for some reason, everything else had frozen.


	4. Chapter 4: The Mystery

Sorry it took so long to write a new chapter. Anyway here it is, and the next one is already in the works. Please review, even to let me know that people are actually reading my story. Onward!

* * *

Chapter IV, The Mystery

Vincent awoke again, after experiencing a feeling not unlike what he felt earlier on. He looked around, and was amazed that he was right back where he started his trek to Kadic.

_What the hell is going on?_ He puzzled to himself, before shouting it aloud. He was unsure if he should go back to Kadic, but decided that answers were more important. He had to find out what was happening to him.

After repeating the long journey again, he decided that his best bet was to find Jean-Pierre or Jim again, but he was unsure where to look.

"Who are you? I don't recognize your face. Are you new here?"

Vincent turned around, to see Jim looking at him.

_What?_

Vincent stared back, blankly.

"Well, can't you speak? What's your name?"

"Uh, Vincent."

"You have a last name?"

"Vashna. Don't you remember me?"

"Can't say I have ever seen you before."

Vincent couldn't understand it.

_It seems like I was sent back in time. But that's crazy!_

He decided to play dumb. He wasn't any more prepared to look crazy than last time he was here. And Jim clearly didn't recognise him at all.

"I must be mistaken. I'm lost. Where is this place?"

"This is the Kadic School. There is a town nearby. Maybe you are on holiday?"

"Jim, is everything okay?"

Vincent turned, expecting to see Jean-Pierre. Sure enough, there he stood.

"Yeah, not a problem. This boy got lost, and ended up here."

"Lost? I can't say that I've seen you before, and I know almost everyone in town. Come to my office, we can talk privately there. You coming, Jim?" "Nah, I had better get back to work. See you later!"

Jim left, again.

Again, Vincent went to Jean-Pierre's office. Again, he rang the police. And they had the same conversation, again. And as expected, Sissi entered, and led Vincent to the cafeteria. Again.

They arrived at the cafeteria, and Sissi left to get Vincent some pizza. He looked around, and everything was the same as last time – with one exception. There were four students at a table nearby – the same four students that he seen running somewhere last time. He thought it strange that they were the only students who were acting differently. Sissi returned with the food, and again, Vincent ate it all.

"Slow down, or you'll choke yourself."

_Heard that before._

This time, however, the four started to walk past him, and Sissi stopped them.

"Ulrich? Hi! How are you?"

"I would be a lot better if you stopped bugging me."

"Oh, don't be silly, I just wanted to introduce you to somebody. Everyone, this is Vincent. He is a boy with no memory!"

They walked around to Vincent. Ulrich extended his hand.

"Hi, I'm Ulrich Stern. And these are my friends, Odd Della Robbia, Jeremie Belpois, and Yumi Ishiyama."

They exchanged greetings.

"So," Yumi asked, "Do you remember anything at all?"

"Not much, just waking up near the school." _Twice._

"Oh, how unfortunate," said Jeremie. "Are they trying to help you?"

"Yeah, the principal phoned the police, and they should be here later for questioning. But I'm not sure if that will help."

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't really know. I'm not sure what to expect."

"I hope they can help, said Odd. "Anyway, we have something to take care of before class. See you soon. And if there is anything we can do to help, let us know."

"Thanks. See you all later."

They left, just before Herb and Nicolas joined them, and the tour began. They had just entered the dorm, when Jim approached them.

"Vincent? The police are here, and are waiting for you in the principal's office."

"Okay, Jim. Sissi thanks for showing me around. I had better go take care of this now."

"Don't mention it. Good luck, Vincent!"

She strolled off to her room. Vincent turned around, and started towards the principal's office.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5: A Strange Discovery

* * *

Okay, so the new chapter is up and running. sorry if it took so long. (That is, if anyone is reading it.) By the way, this is based somewhere in the first series, becauseI havent seen any of the second series yet. Its also meant as a "Feature" as opposed to an "Episode" (That is, it doesnt really matter where in the series it happens). Enough said. Read and enjoy! And review please!

* * *

Chapter V, A Strange Discovery

"And you say your name is Vincent? And your last name?"

"Vashna."

Two police officers, who had come to try to get to the bottom of this, were questioning Vincent, although he was concerned. Firstly, losing his memory was a big lie, and secondly, last time he was here, he didn't make it this far, before having to repeat the day. At this point, the police officers were talking to Jean-Pierre.

"Well, we have checked the local and regional records, and this boy is not from around here. Which means that we are going to have to check the national and possibly global records, but that can take weeks."

"I see, and do you hope to find anything?"

"At the moment there are no missing persons reports matching his description, do all we can do is hope we find something helpful. The only question is what to do with him in the meantime."

"I have some space here at the dorms, so I would gladly put him up here until you can find out where he came from. Is that okay with you, Vincent?"

"Yeah, and thank you."

"Well, I'll talk to the chief, but I don't imagine it to be any trouble. Anyway, we'll start searching the records immediately. Goodbye."

The officers left. Jean-Pierre was checking records.

"There is a free space in room 409. I hope you don't mind sharing."

"Not at all. I'd be happy to."

"It's settled then." Jean-Pierre handed Vincent a key. "If you get lost, somebody will help you out. You should go over there now and get settled in. dinner is served at six."

"Thank you. For everything."

Vincent turned, and walked out of the office. He looked around, and started to walk towards the dorms.

* * *

_It was great of Jean-Pierre to let me stay here. I have to find my room. 409. Should be easy enough, but I don't really know where to look. I need to find out how I got here. The police won't be able to help. I don't want people to think I'm crazy. I have to get home. I'm not crazy, am I? Am I? No, I remember my home, my job, and my friends. I need to get home, but how? Nobody here seems to have even noticed that today has happened twice. Do I have some sort of time-reverting ability? Am I psychic? Did it even happen twice? Did I dream it?_

"Hello, can you hear me? Are you okay? Vincent?"

"Odd? Oh, sorry, I must have been daydreaming. What were you saying?"

"I asked you if the police were able to help in any way."

"Not really, they say that they are going to check national and global records."

"And what until then?"

"The principal agreed to let me stay here in the dorms until the police are finished their investigation. But I have no idea where my room is."

"No problem. I'm going to meet Jeremie in his room, but it can wait. What room?"

"Eh, it's 409."

"Well, looks like I can kill two birds with one stone. That's Jeremie's room! Come on, it's this way!"

Odd led Vincent to the room, and knocked on the door.

"Odd, is that you?"

"Yeah, and you got a new roommate!"

"Oh? I was wondering about the new bed. Come on in!"

Odd opened the door and led Vincent in. the room was small, and it had two beds. One looked like it was brand new. There was also a computer, with a window behind it.

"Ah, Vincent. Come on in. So I guess that the principal has agreed to let you stay here?"  
"Yeah, sorry about barging in to your room."

"Not at all. There is a free bed, now, so someone might as well use it."

The three sat talking, getting to know each other better, until Yumi and Ulrich arrived.

"Vincent, how are you? Are you staying here now?" Asked Yumi.

"Yeah, at least until the police clear things up. But that could take time."

"Well, welcome, officially, to Kadic." Said Ulrich. "So, do you like Sissi?"

"She's okay. She showed me around. Why, do you have a problem with her?"

"I guess you could call it that," Said Odd, "Another way to call it is that she is obsessed with Ulrich and never give him a minutes peace. Or the rest of us, for that matter. But she does have her moments."

"Yeah, she flat out stalks him!" Exclaimed Yumi.

Everyone laughed ,even Vincent. The gang spent the rest of the evening telling Vincent about the school, and the people there. Eventually Ulrich and Odd left to go to their room.

* * *

Jeremie, Vincent and Yumi were talking about the events of the day. Vincent was unsure which day he should be talking about.

"So Vincent, do you remember anything at all?" asked Yumi.

"Only my name, and the incidents of today. But I have had fierce deja-vu all day. It seems like the day repeated itself."

Jeremie and Yumi exchanged a glance. "Could you repeat that?"

"I was near the dorm with Sissi, Herb and Nicolas, when we were engulfed in a ball of white light. The next thing I remember is waking up in the same place I woke up earlier, and nobody remembered anything! It was really strange!"

"You're telling me!" Said Jeremie, as he picked up his phone and dialled Ulrich.

"Ulrich, I need you and Odd to get over here now! No time to explain, just come to my room!" He hung up the phone. "Vincent, you're not crazy. In fact I just might have an idea to jog your memory."

Jeremie explained to Odd and Ulrich.

"For some reason, when we rebooted, Vincent kept his memory, and apparently he has had no contact with Lyoko, or we would have known about it."

Vincent stood there, speechless.

"That's never happened before." Said Odd. "Are we going to the factory?"

"Yeah, maybe it might help. Come on!"

The four of them ran out of the room, and to the park. They led Vincent down a manhole, where there were three skateboards and a scooter. Odd was about to grab a skateboard, but Yumi stopped him.

"It's not an emergency, we don't need to be quick."

They led Vincent along the sewers, and up another manhole. This led them up in front of a factory. They entered, and swung down on ropes. They entered a freight elevator, and Jeremie pressed the button, sending them down. When it stopped, he pushed a few buttons on a keypad. The door opened, and he sat on the only chair. The chair rotated around a pedestal, and a hologram of a map appeared out of it. Vincent was shocked. Never in his life has he ever seen such a powerful computer. What's more, this kid had the intelligence to operate it.

"What the hell is this place?" A shocked Vincent asked.

"This is the factory, and this is the supercomputer, in which the digital world, Lyoko exists." "Explained Jeremie. "Does any of this ring a bell?"

"Not really, no."

"I thought that if you came here, it might jog your memory a bit. Odd, can you take Vincent to the scanner-room?"

"No sweat. Come back this way."

They entered the elevator, and descended to the scanner-room. Odd stepped out.

"Does this look familiar?"

"No."

"Okay. Jeremie, ready for a test run?"

Odd stepped into one of the scanners, and was virtualized into Lyoko. At this point, Ulrich came down the elevator.

"Ulrich, what just happened?"

"Odd was sent into Lyoko."

The scanner opened, and Odd stepped back out. The three returned to the computer room.

"Is nothing here jogging your memory?" Asked Yumi.

"No, why do you think it should?"

"Well," Said Jeremie, "The white ball that engulfed you, it was Lyoko's reboot function. It throws everything and everyone into the past. However, everyone forgets. Everyone that has never had any encounter with Lyoko or XANA. And for some reason, you didn't forget."

"What's a XANA?"

"XANA is part of Lyoko. We are not sure how, but he can launch attacks on the real world. And the only way to repair damaged structures and erase people's memories is to use the reboot function. And I thought that you had an encounter with Lyoko, because you kept your memory."

"Okay. You have all been honest with me, so I will do the same. I haven't lost any of my memory. I don't come from here. I live somewhere else. I was on my way home from work when a strange light surrounded me, and dragged me somewhere – here – and I seen a strange circle with lines, it looked kind of like an eye.

"Like this?" Asked Jeremie, showing him a picture of a roachster.

"Yes! That's it! What is it?"

"It's the eye of XANA. It appears on objects that XANA possesses."

"Oh great," Said Ulrich, "We just gave away the secret of Lyoko for nothing?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. But if this XANA is so dangerous, why don't you just deactivate it?"

"The only to way to do that is to unplug it. And we can't do that because of Aelita.

"What?"

"Aelita also lives on Lyoko, but she is good, not like XANA." Said Jeremie. "I'll introduce you to her. Aelita?"

A new voice entered the room.

"Hello, Jeremie. How are you today?"

"Fine, thanks. Aelita I want to introduce you to someone. Come over here."

Vincent came over to where Jeremie was sitting, and saw a girl on the monitor. She had pink hair, and appeared to be an elf, but not quite.

"Aelita, this is Vincent. Remember that last attack? Well he showed up afterwards, and has had contact with XANA. So my guess is that XANA somehow transported him here."

"Hi, Vincent. Nice to meet you."

"Hi, Aelita."

"Aelita is a virtual being, and she lives in Lyoko.

"Oh, I get it. You can't unplug XANA because you would destroy Aelita too."

"Correct. But I have been working on a way to materialize her."

"Do you think it can be done?"

"Well, after a certain incident involving candy, I figured out that It could be done, but it is gonna take some time. Anyway, we had better be going back to our rooms now, it's getting late. One more thing before we go."

Jeremie began typing madly.

"I'm going to try to find out just exactly what XANA did on his last attack. The computer will work on it overnight. We can check back tomorrow and look at the results. Okay, done. Bye, Aelita."

"Goodbye, everyone."

They returned the same way as they came. Everyone parted. Yumi went home, and the guys went to their room. Vincent was mystified with all the events of the night. He was also tingling with anticipation for finding out how to get home.

* * *

Okay! expect the next chapter up shortly.


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